BOARDING

The Ministry of Education formally lifted the 21-year ban on student hostels in urban schools in Bhutan on 28 June 2016. Hostels are once again recognized as a positive solution for providing continuous care for students, something that is not possible in a non-residential school. Now that the ban has been lifted, Pelkhil School will begin working on making it a reality for our students.

In our quick survey of our senior students, 60% of their parents responded that they were ‘interested in boarding’ and the other 40% said they were ‘not interested in boarding’. The breakup between male and female students was exactly the same, 60% – 40%. The survey was very interesting and we were able to gain some insight into what parents want. We will do some more studies so that we are able to meet the real needs of parents and students.

Several schools in Thimphu are introducing residential programs from 2017 and will serve as a learning exercise for all the other schools as well.